Armistice With Austria
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The Armistice of Villa Giusti or Padua Armistice was an armistice convention with Austria-Hungary which de facto ended warfare between Allies and Associated Powers and
Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, also referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Dual Monarchy or the Habsburg Monarchy, was a multi-national constitutional monarchy in Central Europe#Before World War I, Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. A military ...
during
World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
. Italy represented the Allies and Associated Powers. The
armistice An armistice is a formal agreement of warring parties to stop fighting. It is not necessarily the end of a war, as it may constitute only a cessation of hostilities while an attempt is made to negotiate a lasting peace. It is derived from t ...
protocol, together with a supplementary protocol, was signed on 3 November 1918 in the Villa Giusti, outside
Padua Padua ( ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) in Veneto, northern Italy, and the capital of the province of Padua. The city lies on the banks of the river Bacchiglione, west of Venice and southeast of Vicenza, and has a population of 20 ...
in the
Veneto Veneto, officially the Region of Veneto, is one of the 20 regions of Italy, located in the Northeast Italy, north-east of the country. It is the fourth most populous region in Italy, with a population of 4,851,851 as of 2025. Venice is t ...
, Northern
Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...
, and took effect 24 hours later. This armistice applied only to Austria because Hungary later signed the separate Belgrade armistice.


Background

By the end of October 1918, the
Austro-Hungarian Army The Austro-Hungarian Army, also known as the Imperial and Royal Army,; was the principal ground force of Austria-Hungary from 1867 to 1918. It consisted of three organisations: the Common Army (, recruited from all parts of Austria-Hungary), ...
was so fatigued that its commanders sought a ceasefire. By 1918, the Austro-Hungarian Empire was tearing itself apart under ethnic lines, and if the Dual Monarchy were to survive, it needed to withdraw from the war. In the final stage of the
Battle of Vittorio Veneto The Battle of Vittorio Veneto was fought from 24 October to 3 November 1918 (with an armistice taking effect 24 hours later) near Vittorio Veneto on the Italian Front during World War I. After having thoroughly defeated Austro-Hungarian troops ...
, a stalemate was reached, and the troops of
Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, also referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Dual Monarchy or the Habsburg Monarchy, was a multi-national constitutional monarchy in Central Europe#Before World War I, Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. A military ...
started a chaotic withdrawal. On 28 October, Austria-Hungary asked Italy for an armistice(German)
/ref> They hesitated to sign the text of the armistice. Italy demanded Austria to accept it until 3 November at 00:00 o'clock, and they did so. It entered into force the next day. In the meantime, the Italians reached
Trento Trento ( or ; Ladin language, Ladin and ; ; ; ; ; ), also known in English as Trent, is a city on the Adige, Adige River in Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol in Italy. It is the capital of the Trentino, autonomous province of Trento. In the 16th ...
and
Udine Udine ( ; ; ; ; ) is a city and (municipality) in northeastern Italy, in the middle of the Friuli-Venezia Giulia region, between the Adriatic Sea and the Carnic Alps. It is the capital of the Province of Udine, Regional decentralization entity ...
, landed in
Trieste Trieste ( , ; ) is a city and seaport in northeastern Italy. It is the capital and largest city of the Regions of Italy#Autonomous regions with special statute, autonomous region of Friuli-Venezia Giulia, as well as of the Province of Trieste, ...
, and aimed at making as many
POWs A prisoner of war (POW) is a person held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610. Belligerents hold prisoners of war for a ...
as possible. They got about 380.000 k.u.k. POWs. 30.000 of them died during their war captivity.


Terms

The ceasefire was to start at 15:00 on 4 November, but the Austro-Hungarian High Command unilaterally ordered its forces to stop fighting on 3 November. The armistice required Austria-Hungary's forces to evacuate not only all territory occupied since August 1914 but also South Tirol,
Tarvisio Tarvisio ( German and ; ) is a (municipality) in the Regional Decentralization Entity of Udine, in the autonomous Friuli-Venezia Giulia region of Italy. Geography The town is in the Canal Valley (''Val Canale'') between the Carnic Alps and Ka ...
, the Isonzo Valley,
Gorizia Gorizia (; ; , ; ; ) is a town and (municipality) in northeastern Italy, in the autonomous region of Friuli-Venezia Giulia. It is located at the foot of the Julian Alps, bordering Slovenia. It is the capital of the Province of Gorizia, Region ...
, Trieste,
Istria Istria ( ; Croatian language, Croatian and Slovene language, Slovene: ; Italian language, Italian and Venetian language, Venetian: ; ; Istro-Romanian language, Istro-Romanian: ; ; ) is the largest peninsula within the Adriatic Sea. Located at th ...
, western
Carniola Carniola ( ; ; ; ) is a historical region that comprised parts of present-day Slovenia. Although as a whole it does not exist anymore, Slovenes living within the former borders of the region still tend to identify with its traditional parts Upp ...
, and part of
Dalmatia Dalmatia (; ; ) is a historical region located in modern-day Croatia and Montenegro, on the eastern shore of the Adriatic Sea. Through time it formed part of several historical states, most notably the Roman Empire, the Kingdom of Croatia (925 ...
. All German forces would be expelled from Austria-Hungary within 15 days or interned, and the Allies were to have the unrestricted use of Austria-Hungary's internal communications. Austria-Hungary was also to allow the transit of the
Triple Entente The Triple Entente (from French meaning "friendship, understanding, agreement") describes the informal understanding between the Russian Empire, the French Third Republic, and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. It was built upon th ...
armies to reach Germany from the South. In November 1918, the Italian Army, with 20,000 to 22,000 soldiers, began to occupy
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and all
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. After the war, Italy annexed Southern Tyrol (now
Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol ( ; ; ), often known in English as Trentino-South Tyrol or by its shorter Italian name Trentino-Alto Adige, is an Regions of Italy#Autonomous regions with special statute, autonomous region of Italy, located in the ...
), according to the secret Treaty of London, as well as Trieste,
Austrian Littoral The Austrian Littoral (, , , , ) was a crown land (''Kronland'') of the Austrian Empire, established in 1849. It consisted of three regions: the Margraviate of Istria in the south, Gorizia and Gradisca in the north, and the Imperial Free City ...
and part of Dalmatia (
Zadar Zadar ( , ), historically known as Zara (from Venetian and Italian, ; see also other names), is the oldest continuously inhabited city in Croatia. It is situated on the Adriatic Sea, at the northwestern part of Ravni Kotari region. Zadar ...
,
Lastovo Lastovo () is an archipelago municipality in Dubrovnik-Neretva County in Croatia. The municipality consists of 46 islands with a total population of 792 people, of which 94.7% are ethnic Croats, and a land area of approximately . ''Lastovo Munic ...
,
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).


Signatories


Italy

* Tenente Generale
Pietro Badoglio Pietro Badoglio, 1st Duke of Addis Abeba, 1st Marquess of Sabotino ( , ; 28 September 1871 – 1 November 1956), was an Italian general during both World Wars and the first viceroy of Italian East Africa. With the fall of the Fascist regim ...
* Maggior Generale Scipione Scipioni * Colonnello Tullio Marchetti * Colonnello
Pietro Gazzera Pietro Gazzera (11 December 1879 – 30 June 1953) was an officer in the Italian Royal Army during World War II, as well as a prewar Italian politician. Gazzera was born in Bene Vagienna, he joined the Italian Army and fought in the Italo-Turki ...
* Colonnello Pietro Maravigna * Colonnello Alberto Pariani * Capitano di Vascello Francesco Accinni


Austria-Hungary

* General Viktor Weber Edler von Webenau * Oberst Karl Schneller * Fregattenkapitän Johannes Prinz von und zu Liechtenstein * Oberstleutnant J.V. Nyékhegyi * Korvettenkapitän Georg Ritter von Zwierkowski * Oberstleutnant i.G. Victor Freiherr von Seiller * Hauptmann i.G. Camillo Ruggera


See also

* Bollettino della Vittoria, Italian General
Armando Diaz Armando Diaz, 1st Duke della Vittoria, (5 December 1861 – 28 February 1928) was an Italian general and a Marshal of Italy. He is mostly known for his role as Chief of Staff of the Regio Esercito during World War I from November 1917. He ...
's victory speech *
Treaty of Saint-Germain-en-Laye (1919) The Treaty of Saint-Germain-en-Laye () was signed on 10 September 1919 by the victorious Allies of World War I on the one hand and by the Republic of German-Austria on the other. Like the Treaty of Trianon with Kingdom of Hungary (1920–1946 ...
, the resulting treaty *
Treaty of Trianon The Treaty of Trianon (; ; ; ), often referred to in Hungary as the Peace Dictate of Trianon or Dictate of Trianon, was prepared at the Paris Peace Conference (1919–1920), Paris Peace Conference. It was signed on the one side by Hungary ...
, the peace treaty for
Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...


References

* Antonello Biagini, Giovanna Motta
''The First World War: Analysis and Interpretation'', Vol. 1
p. 100 * John Gooch
''The Italian Army and the First World War''
p. 299 * Bullitt Lowry
''Armistice 1918''
p. 112 * Manfried Rauchensteiner
''The First World War and the End of the Habsburg Monarchy, 1914–1918''
p. 1005


External links


Text of the armistice
{{DEFAULTSORT:Armistice Of Villa Giusti Treaties concluded in 1918 Treaties entered into force in 1918 1918 in Italy 1918 in Austria-Hungary Villa Giusti Italy in World War I Military history of Italy during World War I Austria-Hungary in World War I World War I treaties Villa Giusti Villa Giusti Peace treaties of Austria Treaties of the Kingdom of Italy (1861–1946) Austria–Italy relations 1918 in military history Italian front (World War I) November 1918